


Western Expanse

by dontknowcats



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Western, F/M, What-If, idk what else yet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:41:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23976907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontknowcats/pseuds/dontknowcats
Summary: Okay but what if Lavellan was a gang leader in the American West in 1873?
Relationships: Atheva Lavellan/Cullen Rutherford, Female Lavellan/Cullen Rutherford, Lavellan & Dorian Pavus, Lavellan & Iron Bull, Lavellan & Solas, Lavellan & Varric Tethras, Lavellan/Cullen Rutherford
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

“This here is a robbery, now get your damn hands in the air!”

Everyone turned, surprised to hear a high-pitched voice screaming out demands.

Their confusion turned to fear when they saw the small redhead’s hands wrapped around the grip of two pistols. She cocked the guns, and immediately hands went up.

“That’s more like it! Now get on the ground,” she said with a snarl as a large man entered the bank behind her. Two other men followed behind, but much shorter in stature.

Everyone in the bank lowered themselves to the ground, hoping to save themselves from the woman’s anger. They surely had heard of her-- it wasn’t too often that a short redhead woman had the guts to rob any bank she came across in the West.

“Bull, watch these fools. You two with me!” She said over her shoulder.

The largest man nodded, producing a shotgun from behind his back. The other two men, their faces covered with black bandanas, nodded and followed her up to the counter. The teller’s forehead was already covered in sweat thanks to the heat of the noon sun.

“Gimme all you got in that vault of yours,” she said. The shape of her lips as she talked was evident behind her own dark green bandana mask.

“I-I can’t leave the counter,” the teller stammered back, his hands shaking.

“You’re really going to keep trying to follow the rules while being held up?” One of the men asked, his head tilting to the side and eyes narrowing.

The teller swallowed nervously and shook his head. “Guess not,” he whispered.

The small woman jumped over the counter once he had stepped away, and pointed her gun to the back of his head. “Let’s get a move-on, buddy.”

The teller’s sweat was dripping down his neck. It was awfully hot, but it didn’t mean anything to the gang occupying the bank.

The leader noticed his hands shaking as he unlocked the vault and audibly sighed. “No one’s gonna get hurt unless you try somethin’ funny,” she warned.

“I-I’m not going to try anything, but… we don’t have that money,” the teller replied as the vault opened.

There had to only be twenty dollars inside.  
“That’s it?!” She screeched before slamming her gun as hard as she could against the back of his head. “Shit.”

She reached her hand into the vault, leaning over the teller’s crumpled body. Grabbing the small stacks of bills was easy enough, and they fell into her bag with an unsatisfyingly soft thud.

“We’ve got a problem out here, boss!” Bull called from across the bank. He had turned his attention from the people on the ground to the door.

She could faintly hear the sound of someone calling themselves the sheriff.

“Shit!” She repeated as she jumped over the counter. Her red braid bounced against her back as she approached the door next to Bull.

“Sounds like he’s all alone, but could still be a problem,” the large man said, looking down at his boss.

“Give me a second here,” she muttered, pulling her mask down to expose her now-red face to the people in the bank.

Gasps could be heard across the floor as hostages realized who exactly they were dealing with.

“Th-That’s the Red Devil!” They whispered before going into silent prayer.

Atheva smirked to herself, glad her notoriety was gaining across the plains. But she still had to come up with a plan….

“You!” She said, pointing to a young woman laying on the floor. “Follow me to the back!”

“M-Ma’am please I have a family…” The woman gasped, slowly rising to her feet.

“Don’t be stupid, I’m not gonna hurt you,” Atheva said as she walked past her. “We’re just gonna play a game of dress-up.”

The woman nodded and rushed after her, her long skirt brushing against the wooden floor.

Minutes passed before Bull called out, “Boss? The sheriff’s gettin’ antsy….”

“Gimme one damn second!” Atheva shouted back before emerging in the woman’s skirt and blouse. Her boots still hit the floor with each uncouth stomp.

“Wowee,” one of the masked men said sarcastically. “You gonna put a show on for us?”

“Just you watch,” she said with a smirk. She reached under her newly-acquired bonnet, her braid coming to rest at the top of her head. Atheva took a deep breath before wrenching her face into an expression of fear.

“Sh-Sheriff!” She screamed as she burst out the door. “Oh, Sheriff! She’s in there!”

The sheriff, an older gentleman with black hair and scruff, seemed surprised. “Who? Who is it ma’am?!”

“Th-The Red Devil! She sent me as a warnin’.... You’re gonna need more men to beat that crazy woman!”

The sheriff’s face turned white as he heard Atheva’s nickname. “Is she gonna hurt anyone? I’ll have to gather the men for backup!”

“No, no, she said she wouldn’t hurt anyone if you left her alone,” she sniffled, fake tears pricking her eyes. “Please, sheriff, don’t try anything stupid!”

“I have to keep the people of this town safe, ma’am. Now you go home and lock the door,” he said, turning on his heels to run to the saloon.

Atheva smirked. Now hopefully the boys knew to make a run for it….


	2. Chapter 2

Hours had passed and the sun was beginning to set. Atheva sat under a large tree in the middle of a field. No one would spot her, but her horse could have been a dead giveaway with its black coat and mane.

She had been waiting for over an hour for her boys to meet up with her at the spot they had agreed to if things went wrong. The amount of time that had passed made her nervous. Had they escaped? Did the sheriff catch them?

While she was pondering her friends’ ultimate demise, a horse began to approach. She could barely make it out in the creeping darkness, and she grabbed her gun from the back of her skirt. Her luck may have run out.

The rider had a lantern in his hand, but it wasn’t until he was almost on top of her that Atheva could finally make him out.

“Cullen!” She sighed, placing her gun on the ground. “Jesus, I didn’t think it would be you.”

The man laughed lightly as he jumped off his horse. The lantern shook on impact, making his crooked smile even more intriguing.

“Did you not want it to be?”

“I just wasn’t expectin’ you is all,” she muttered as she pushed herself up onto her feet. “Where are the boys?”

“Back at camp. They figured you would be there, so they headed on back. Imagine my shock when they said they were lookin’ for you,” he replied.

“What?! We had talked about meetin’ up here if something went wrong!”

“They didn’t seem to think anything went wrong.”

“Horse shit. Plenty went wrong,” Atheva muttered.

“I dunno, I think you look rather nice in that outfit,” Cullen replied, closing the distance between them. His hand gently gripped the fabric of her skirt. His thumb rubbed over it, gently brushing against her thigh.

Atheva’s cheeks began to burn red and she looked away. “Listen, just take me back to camp so I can change out of this monkey outfit,” she muttered, tugging at the knot of her bonnet. It came undone easily, freeing her now-frizzy braid. Her curls were threatening to destroy the twine holding it all together.

“And miss out on some private time with my favorite gangster? Don’t count on it,” Cullen said as he leaned forward. His lips brushed against hers as he spoke. Before he could kiss her, she leaned in to do it first.

He smiled into their kiss before placing his free hand on her waist. Cullen was the only one who got to see this side of the Red Devil. How fragile she could feel in his arms, like if he squeezed too tightly she would collapse. Her nervous expressions, how she looked scared of letting herself feel anything but hate and exhilaration. 

Those were only for him.

And they never lasted long.

Atheva pulled back suddenly, turning her head to look to the south. “Did you hear that?” She asked nervously.

“It’s just the wind,” he whispered, trying not to show his disappointment about the end to their kiss.

“No, no, we should go,” she replied with a shake of her head. She stepped out of his hold and walked over to her horse. “Race ya?” She asked with a coy smile.

“Only if I get another kiss at the end,” Cullen said. He handed his lantern over to her before jumping onto his horse. He leaned down to take it back from her before she did the same.

“Deal.”

* * *

The two arrived back to camp with hair whipped around by the wind during their frantic ride.

“I won again!” Atheva said with a grin as she hopped off her trusty mare. She gave the horse a gentle pat on her backside as she waited for Cullen to dismount.

“So you did,” he said with a chuckle. He walked around the side of her horse to plant a soft kiss to her forehead.

“Yuck!”

A cry came from camp, startling the two out of their pure moment.

“Bull! Shut up!” Atheva called back as she moved away to tie her horse to the makeshift post they had made out of a fallen tree.

“Listen, I just don’t see _why_ you’re smoochin’ on this farmboy!” Bull called back.

She made her way into camp, grimacing when she saw the bag holding the small amount they had found inside the bank. “It makes more sense than that bank holdin’ fuck all!” She snapped.

The three men around the fire looked shocked.

“Hey, don’t blame Bull.”

Atheva turned her glare over to Varric. “I’m not, I’m blaming my gossip hound….” She hissed.

“Woah, woah,” the smaller man said, holding his hands up in front of him. “So I got some bad information, so what? We still got some good cash!”

“Not enough! Twenty dollars isn’t worth a run. Remember the Frisco job?” She asked, turning her attention to their bald and mustachioed cohorts.

The two nodded their heads.

“We made more than a thousand. _Each._ We need to get that much again if we’re gonna make it up North.”

“Why go up North, though?” Varric asked with a shake of his head. “It’s cold…”

“No one’s up there ‘cept the trappers. That’s what we need right now. We need to get out of this area and away from the Pinkertons. With our luck, they’re hot on our trail,” she added under her breath.

It was enough to get the two silent types’ attention.

“Why would they be on our trail?”

“Well, Dorian,” she said, turning her attention to the well-dressed man. “We haven’t exactly been laying low….”

“You and the farmboy going shopping in the city certainly didn’t help,” muttered their bald companion.

Cullen shook his head. “I get you don’t like me, but don’t blame Atheva for it.”

“Oh yes, because you would definitely be here without her,” Varric retorted.

“Shut up!” Atheva yelled. “Varric, your intel was bad. We need to hit another big bank before we make it North. After that, we can split ways if y’all hate Cullen so much, but I ain’t ditching him.”

“Whatever,” Dorian said under his breath before taking a sip of the soup Varric had made the group.

Atheva sighed and walked over to an empty seat by the fire. “Listen. Today was… not good,” she said, looking to her men for agreement before continuing, “But we’ve been in this a long time and now is not the time to fall apart. Just because we’ve got a new helpin’ hand and a new man on the town doesn’t mean we can get comfortable. Our goal in this life is to get into the lap of luxury. We’re not there yet, so we can’t get lazy. Y’all are good men, and I know you can help make this work.

“Now pass the whiskey.”


End file.
